volkswagen

Today’s Stories
What to expect from the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X (plot twist there’s more bezel)
China plans to ban sales of fossil fuel cars entirely
Volkswagen to offer electric versions of all of its vehicles by 2030
Mercedes-Benz will electrify its entire car lineup by 2022
Google files to appeal $2.73BN EU antitrust fine
Zoox in talks with SoftBank to fund… Read More

Volkswagen is the latest car maker to announce a move to electrify its entire range of automobile offerings: The car maker will provide either hybrid or electric versions of every one of its 300 models by 2030, it announced today ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show in German. Read More

The VW Microbus is about as iconic as they come in the world of automobiles, and the I.D. Buzz is the electric, modern incarnation of that van Volkswagen introduced as a concept back in January. In June, the automaker surprised many by announcing the I.D. Buzz would eventually become a production vehicle, instead of just another concept destined to fade away in the mists of time.
Now… Read More

Volkswagen is working with Nvidia to expand its usage of its artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies beyond autonomous vehicles and into other areas of business, the two companies revealed today.
VW set up its Munich-based data lab in 2014. Last year it pushed on with the hiring of Prof. Patrick van der Smagt to lead a dedicated AI team that is tasked with taking the… Read More

Electric production vehicles may be relatively rare, but electric concepts abound, and most of them are targeting 2020 for a rough production date, as is the Volkswagen I.D. CROZZ, an all-electric design whose name I hope dies in a horrible fire between now and whenever (if ever) it does end up hitting the street. Read More

Volkswagen is doubling down on China and AI in one fell swoop after the automaker announced a $180 million investment in Chinese startup Mobvoi to bring smart technology into its cars.
Unlike a regular capital raise, VW’s money is going into a joint-venture that will “develop and apply AI technologies to automotive industry” rather than Mobvoi itself, the companies said in… Read More

In the late 1990s, Volkswagen approached the music label Rykodisc with a proposition. They wanted to take the music of a then-obscure singer-songwriter from the company’s catalog and use it as the soundtrack to an ad for their new Cabriolet.
The artist was Nick Drake and, though I’m not sure how well the car sold, the ad (VW’s first online) became iconic and brought a… Read More

The e-Golf, Volkswagen’s electric version of its popular compact car, officially gets around 50 percent more range this year than it did in the previous model. That means it now has an EPA rating of 125 miles on a single charge (via Autoblog), compared to 83 miles before. The 125-mile range is still a far cry from the Chevy Bolt’s industry-leading EV range, but the e-Golf is not… Read More

Volkswagen and Mobileye have signed an agreement to see Mobileye’s Road Experience Management (REM) mapping service integrated into VW-brand vehicles starting in 2018. The service from provider Mobileye crowdsources real-time road condition reports from vehicles equipped with the product to help provide intelligent fleet features for use in autonomous vehicles, making sure networked… Read More

Latest Crunch Report

Volkswagen’s new I.D. Buzz electric vehicle concept is a futuristic take on the microbus that revives the family camper for an era when we’ll spent just as much of our time on the road relaxing or hanging out with our fellow passengers as we will driving. The new EV design, Volkswagen’s second concept car in the I.D. line, was revealed at this year’s North American… Read More

While Qualcomm continues to work on closing its $47 billion acquisition of automotive chipmaker NXP, it’s also driving ahead with developing car technology on its own steam. Today at CES, the chipmaker unveiled several initiatives to drive further into the connected car space, including a partnership with Volkswagen, a connected car trial in Germany, a new class of high-bandwidth… Read More

PayByPhone, the app that lets you pay for parking (and parking tickets) with a smartphone, has been acquired by Volkswagen Financial Services. PayByPhone is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and operates in Canada, the US, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Australia. In 2016, company processed $250 million in parking payments from 12.5 million users.
Volkswagen Financial Services… Read More

Volkswagen is extending the I.D. concept family it debuted at the Paris Motor Show earlier this year with a new concept car in the same line to be fully revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The carmaker teased the concept today, revealing a few details about the car, including that it’s designed to be fully self-driving in the future.
The new… Read More

Moia, which launched at TechCrunch Disrupt London 2016 on Monday, is one of the most aggressive and intentional moves made yet by a major automaker in terms of investing in urban transportation models that extend beyond individual ownership.
Getting around the limits of city living
Moia is focused on solving the problems associated with cities specifically, and movement therein, according to… Read More

The Audi R8 e-tron is dead if a report from Car and Driver is to be believed. The production version of the car was unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show and apparently Audi produced fewer than 100 vehicles — which sported a $1.1 million window sticker each.
When announced, the e-tron seemed like a key part of Audi’s future. Built in the same vein as the R8, the e-tron sat on top… Read More

China is looking at electric vehicles as a key way to lower emissions and improve the country’s general environmental sustainability, and Volkswagen is teaming up with China state-owned car maker Anhui Jianghuai (JAC) to help fill that need.
The two car companies signed a memorandum of understanding today, effectively paving the way for them to create a new joint venture to develop… Read More

This year’s Paris motor show will host the unveiling of Volkswagen’s first all-electric car, according to an interview with company chairman Herbert Diess in German magazine WirstschaftWoche. The car will be roughly Golf-sized, according to the chairman, but will feel as roomy as a Passat on the inside, thanks to space saved via lighter frame construction and use of the… Read More

On July 19, members of the Northwest Automotive Press Association got together in Portland, Oregon, to drive 14 fuel-efficient and high-tech vehicles and compare them head to head. The overall winner was the 2017 Chevy Volt, which uses electricity plus a small gasoline generator engine and carries a price tag around $40,000. (No, Tesla did not send a vehicle to be tested.)
The… Read More

Volkswagen is trying to mash the dash into the future, but its ongoing emissions scandal remains its biggest roadblock. And it doesn’t look like the trudge from the crisis will be sliding into the rearview mirror anytime soon.
On Tuesday, the embattled automaker confirmed with the Wall Street Journal that it plans to build electric vehicles in North America by 2020 in an attempt to… Read More

Ads don’t work so well anymore. To begin with, there are just too many of them. In a time when consumers are inundated with ads from every corner of their screens (and lives), brands and startups are finding it insanely difficult to stand out from the crowd. The average consumer has slowly become immune to online advertising and marketing. Read More